Today’s Highlights:
Catch as Catch Can, by Mia Chung, directed by Daniel Aukin, featuring Cindy Cheung, Lon Lavecchia, Jon Norman Schneider, Roberta Lavecchia, and Rob Yang, opens at Off-Broadway’s Playwrights Horizons.
National Black Theatre‘s The Gospel Woman workshop production, by TyLie Shider, directed by Adrienne D. Williams, featuring Kala Ross (Ruth), Carla R. Stewart (Orpah), Charles E. Wallace (Fowler), Ronald Emmile (Wino), and Wendell Jordan (Benjamin/Bidder), opens at Off-Broadway’s Chelsea Factory.
Into the Woods, directed & choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, featuring Christopher Bloch (Narrator/Mysterious Man), Kurt Boehm (Steward), Simone Brown (Rapunzel), Alex De Bard (Little Red Riding Hood), Sherri L. Edelen (Jack’s Mother), Crystal J. Freeman (Cinderella’s Mother/Granny), Vincent Kempski (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf), Jake Loewenthal (The Baker), David Merino (Jack), Adelina Mitchell (Florinda), Katie Mariko Murray (Cinderella), Nova Y. Payton (The Witch), Lawrence Redmond (Cinderella’s Father), Maria Rizzo (Cinderella’s Stepmother), Paul Scanlan (Rapunzel’s Prince), Erin Weaver (The Baker’s Wife), and Chani Wereley (Lucinda), and Phylicia Rashad (Voice of the Giant), with Drake Leach, Julia Wheeler Lennon, Dylan Toms, and Cassandra Victoria, opens at VA’s Signature Theatre.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical national tour, featuring Courtney Reed (Satine), Conor Ryan (Christian, Austin Durant (Harold Zidler), André Ward (Toulouse-Lautrec), David Harris (Duke of Monroth), Gabe Martinez (Santiago), Libby Lloyd (Nini), and Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer (Satine Alternate), with Nicci Claspell, Harper Miles, Andrés Quintero, Adrienne Balducci, Andrew Brewer, Jack Cahill-Lemme, Sam J. Cahn, Darius Crenshaw, Alexander Gil Cruz, Alexa De Barr, Tamrin Goldberg, Alexis Hasbrouck, Jordan Fife Hunt, Justin Keats, Tyler John Logan, Tanisha Moore, Brayden Newby, Kent Overshown, Amy Quanbeck, Ayden Pratt, Adéa Michelle Sessoms, Jenn Stafford, Denzel Tsopnang, Travis Ward-Osborne, Sharrod Williams, Jennifer Wolfe, and Ricardo A. Zayas, opens at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas, directed by James Vásquez, featuring Andrew Polec (The Grinch), Tyrone Davis Jr. (Young Max), John Treacy Egan (Old Max), and Issa Ally & Harper Quinn (alternating as Cindy-Lou Who), Kevin Solis (Grandpa Who), Bets Malone (Grandma Who), Julia Davis & Leila Manuel (alternating as Annie), Chloe Oh & Pearl Salonga (alternating as Betty-Lou Who), Ari Gimbel & Faizi Mahalingham (alternating as Boo Who), Ryan Hafner & Landon Tweet (alternating as Danny Who), and Joelle Dana Advento & Ali Nelson (alternating as Teen Who), and many more, begins previews at San Diego’s Old Globe.
Vocal Ease Annual Benefit Performance, hosted by Jarrod Spector and Kelli Barrett, at 7 PM at NYC’s Chelsea Table & Stage. Live tix here. Livestream tix here.
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Reviews for From Here to Eternity at London’s Charing Cross Theatre:
The Stage (Nick Curtis): …This new production from American director Brett Smock has been strategically reworked, with a pared-back design that ramps up the intensity… In Smock’s gritty traverse staging, everything seems amplified. The belting chorus of G Company bellow their boredom and frustration. Cressida Carré’s testosterone-fueled choreography echoes regimental maneuvers with platoon efficiency, and Stuart Brayson’s score comes into its own… The focus is sharper, the atmosphere more oppressive, and there are some exceptional performances… Jonathan Bentley is a sensation as the stubborn Prewitt…
The Arts Desk (Gary Naylor): … As the extensive list of trigger warnings at the box office suggests, we’re very much in the world of the unexpurgated original text (eventually published in 2011) for this West End revival of Stuart Brayson’s and Sir Tim Rice’s musical… The excellent score…comprises melodies inflected by rock, pop, blues and swing, and is beautifully sung by the cast… But the show has its problems. Donald Rice and Bill Oakes have reworked the book for this new production, but it still doesn’t quite work. The parallel love stories never spark… With no rolling around in the surf, it’s all a bit half-hearted…. With most of the action taking place inside the dark and dingy barracks on a largely bare stage set in the round, we could be anywhere really.
Theatre Weekly (Greg Stewart): …The musical, with a book by Donald Rice and Bill Oakes, is based on the original and uncensored novel by James Jones, so there are some subtle differences in plot compared to the successful film adaptation… Swathes of scenes and songs from the first act have been moved to the second and vice versa, and as a result we lose the careful construction of the characters as individuals… What was a sweeping romance is now a gritty war musical, with a love story bolted on, but never fully realised… Some twenty-five songs are reduced to sixteen, even the gorgeously emotive overture doesn’t make the cut… The relationship between all these characters suffers as a result of the changes to the book…
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Broadway Grosses for the week ending Nov. 6. Click here for the complete analysis.
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A 2023 workshop is being planned for the world premiere of Ludwig Englander, Harry B. Smith & George V. Hobart’s Wild Rose, directed by John Tiffany.
The new musical will open in Scotland in 2024, with the possibility of transferring to London’s West End and Broadway.
The film follows the character of Rose-Lynn and her relationships with her children and her mother Marion, and the friendship that develops between her and Susannah, whose house Rose-Lynn cleans.
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The 2022 Theater Hall of Fame Induction and Dinner will take place Mon. Nov. 14 at 7 PM at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre, hosted by Andre De Shields.
2022 Inductees:
Christine Ebersole
Frank Galati
Bill Irwin
Abe Jacob
Lynn Nottage
Suzan-Lori Parks
Mandy Patinkin
Ntozake Shange
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Always Irving Berlin will take place Sun. Nov. 20 at 5 PM and 7:30 PM at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, with music direction by Joe Davidian, and hosted by Deborah Grace Winer.
Debby Boone, Darius de Haas, and Anaïs Reno.
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Porchlight Music Theatre‘s Rent, directed by Adrian Abel Azevedo, has been extended through Dec. 11 at Chicago’s Ruth Page Center for the Arts.
Lucy Godinez (Maureen Johnson), Teressa LaGamba (Joanne Jefferson), Eric Lewis (Tom Collins), David Moreland (Mark Cohen), Alix Rhode (Mimi Marquez), Abraham Shaw (Benjamin “Benny” Coffin III), Josh Pablo Szabo (Antel Dumott Schunard), and Shraga D. Wasserman (Roger Davis), with Bridget Adams-King, Anthony Clerg, Naphtali Curry, Leah Davis, Caitlin Dobbins, Nick Johnson, Chris Khoshaba, and Nik Kmiecik.
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Video: Rob McClure and Lena Hall perform “Suddenly Seymour” in Off-Broadway’s Little Shop of Horrors.
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A reading of Angela J. Davis’ Griswold will take place Fri. Nov. 11 at 7 PM at NYC’s Cooper Union, directed by Tatiana Pandiani, and hosted by Emily Mann. The reading is in support of A Is For (which aims to de-stigmatize abortion and enhance access to reproductive services).
Annette Bening, Sean Carvajal and Emma Ramos.
Bening stars as activist Estelle Griswold in the play which explores the legacy of a woman who fought for the 1965 law establishing the constitutional right to privacy—a core concept protecting Americans against government interference in matters of gender, sexuality, and reproductive freedom.
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Colin Escott’s adaptation of Million Dollar Quartet Christmas will run Nov. 18 – Jan. 1, 2023 (opening Nov. 19) at PA’s Bucks County Playhouse, directed by Hunter Foster.
Joe Boover (Elvis Presley), Tyler Michal Breeding (Johnny Cash), Jason Cohen (Jerry Lee Lewis), Sam Sherwood (Carl Perkins), Margaret Dudasik (Dyanne), Bart Shatto (Sam Phillips), James David Larson (Brother Jay Perkins), and Tucker Cruz Marshall (Fluke), with Guiliana Augello, Brian Michael Henry, and Sam C. Jones.
This new Christmas version is inspired by the imagined story of four music icons who gather for an all-night jam session.
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Video: Trailer for Sarah Jones’ new documentary, “Sell/Buy/Date,” based on her play of the same name, which is now available on VOD. The film is executive produced by Meryl Streep.
The clip features appearances by Ilana Glazer, Rosario Dawson, and Bryan Cranston.
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HalfPint at Night, a new late-night variety show curated by Denise Manning and SRDA, will run Nov. 10-12 (all at 9:30 PM) at the Signature Center, with DJ David Samuel. 
here.
(Nov. 10): Luxx Noir London, Nick Rashad Burroughs, Zhailon Levinston… (Nov. 11): Brita Filter, Cuzins (Yonatan Gebeyehu and Amara Granderson), Auberth Bercy… and (Nov. 12) Junior Mintt, UGBA, and Adrian.
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Jessica Vosk in concert will run Nov. 17-19 (all at 7:30 PM at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center.
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Mike Birbiglia’s new solo show, The Old Man and the Pool, directed by Seth Barrish, which opens Nov. 13, was originally scheduled to close Dec. 30 at Broadway’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre. However it has now has been extended through Jan. 15, 2023.
Do not miss this one.
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Video: Alex Joseph Grayson sings “Feel the Rain” from Parade at NYC Center.
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Monet’s Garden The Immersive Experience has opened at NYC’s Seaman’s Bank Building (30 Wall Street), and will continue through Jan. 8, 2023.
The exhibition thrusts visitors into a multi-sensory and multimedia voyage that reveals the inspiration and history behind some of the world’s greatest masterpieces. Employing an unprecedented range of visual, phonic, and olfactory stimuli, this enchanting exhibition provides complete and total immersion into the work and world of Claude Monet (1840-1926). Visitors are guided thought experiential galleries, each providing fresh perspectives on Monet’s life and and new experiences of his cherished masterpieces.
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Samuel D. Hunter’s “The Whale” (adapted from his play) will be released Dec. 9 in movie theaters throughout the U.S., directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Brendan Fraser, Sadi Sink, and more…
The film follows Charlie, a reclusive online writing instructor who lives his life marooned on a couch after growing to 600 pounds. He attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenager daughter, but he has to face his own guilt in order to repair their relationship.
Video: Trailer